The Wizard (Novel): When Words Kill by Shi Wu: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Wizard by Shi Wu

The Wizard is set in a nameless big city in modern China. It begins with a prologue seven years before the main story. Cheng Jinxi, 18, has confessed to killing his entire family and even though the detective in charge of the investigation, Liang Yuanfeng, can’t find any evidence of his involvement, the young man is taken to prison.

Readers learn already during the prologue, that Cheng Jinxi did indeed kill his family, and how and why he did it. He can hurt and kill people seemingly with his thought alone, which he demonstrates the first day in the prison by killing some prisoners. The director of the prison instantly realises that there’s nothing he can do to keep Cheng Jinxi confined if he doesn’t choose to stay. Fortunately for him, the young man has chosen to accept his punishment and stays, though with great liberties.

Seven years later, Liang Yuanfeng, only 32, is already burned out as a detective and on a forced leave to recuperate. Only he and his boss know that it’s because Liang Yuanfeng has resorted to vigilant justice. He’s kept in close touch with Cheng Jinxi, his only visitor in prison, and learned what the younger man can do. So he’s asked him to kill some bad people. He doesn’t regret his actions.

A great evil has taken over an apartment building and people have started to kill each other. When the building takes a special task force hostage and almost kills Liang Yuanfeng’s boss, Liang Yuanfeng is asked to bring in Cheng Jinxi to solve the problem. Liang Yuanfeng manages to negotiate a pardon for him, with himself as the younger man’s warder.

The two settle into the family home of Cheng Jinxi’s sister whose death in the hands of their extended family triggered him to killing everyone. Cheng family comes from a long line of shamans with great powers that women possess. But the family didn’t know that in their generation, it’s Cheng Jinxi who has the power, not his sister or little niece. Cheng Jinxi gets the custody of his niece, now 12, and the three become a small family.

It doesn’t take long for the two to become romantically involved, although it’s fairly one-sided, as Cheng Jinxi can’t really feel any emotions after everything he’s done. They spend their time solving supernatural crimes, and trying to come to terms with things they’ve both done. Atonement doesn’t seem possible, on top of which Cheng Jinxi has a time-stamp on him. Because it turns out, he’s not the one who’s using the power; it’s a demon to whom he’s promised himself as a sacrifice. And the demon is about to collect.

This was a good but gloomy story, with some tear-jerking moments. Liang Yuanfeng turned into a warm caretaker fairly easily for a burned-out cop, but his character remains slightly superficial. Cheng Jinxi has a deeper character and backstory, and he goes through a greater change. Theirs is not a very good romance, but it’s sweet with some tender moments. The story heads slowly but surely towards the impending doom and a happily ever after seems impossible. It takes a great twist for the small family to end up in a good place.

The writing stars as fairly good, but it deteriorates towards the end, with lots of repetition and contradictions in character actions. It didn’t really matter at that point, but it nevertheless managed to lessen the impact of the emotional climax. This is a stand-alone story, and the end is conclusive. While I liked it, it’s not among the great BL stories that’ll linger in my mind.

I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Vol. 1 (light novel) by singNsong: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint vol 1 by SingNsong

The original Korean light novel of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint by SingNsong (a writing duo pseudonym) is finally available in print and ebook in English. I’ve read the manhwa serialisation on Webtoon (first seven volumes are also available in print in English), so I was familiar with the story and characters going in.

Dokja Kim (Kim Dokja in original Korean; all the names have been westernised for some annoying reason) is an unimpressive office worker in his late twenties. The sole solace in his joyless life is a serialised novel Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse, which he has read over a decade, most of it as its sole reader. After three thousand chapters, the book has come to an end, and just as he wonders what he’s supposed to do next, the world ends.

The end isn’t random or a complete destruction. Humanity finds itself as participants in a universe-wide reality show for the amusement of Constellations, god-like beings who observe the show through thousands of channels somewhere in the universe. The show is deadly and very unfair. But Kim Dokja immediately realises he knows how the show is run. Because he’s been reading about it the past ten years.

Armed with the knowledge of the story and the rules of the new world, he sets out to survive. And from the very first scenario given to humans through game interfaces, he starts to change the story.

The first volume sets the scene, completes the first deadly scenario and starts the second. The scenarios are run by goblins who are hosts of the channels, their sole interest to amuse the gods and making as much money of them as they can. The gods interfere by claiming favourite players and paying in coins for interesting events.

From the start, Kim Dokja gains the attention of the gods, not least because he knows how to game the game. He also gathers a small group of people around him who all will play a great role in the story later. He doesn’t do it solely for kindness though. He does it to survive.

The manhwa adaptation is fairly faithful to the light novel. Not much is left out. There’s not much to leave out anyway. The narrative is fast-paced and sparce. Kim Dokja’s thoughts are portrayed well in the adaptation too.

The only difference I noted from the beginning is the way the second main character, Yu Junghyeok (Junghyeok Yu in English version), the original lead of TWSA novel, is portrayed. He's a regressor who has lived through the scenarios many times over, starting from the beginning every time he dies and getting stronger and more inhuman in every round. Kim Dokja makes clear in his inner thoughts that he’s afraid of Yu Junghyeok and sees him as a monster, though he admires him too. We also get Yu Junghyeok’s inner thoughts, which we seldom get in the manhwa. It adds an interesting layer to the novel.

The bromance between the pair is a fan-favourite that’s absent from the manhwa. I don’t know if it’ll develop later in the series, but it’s not here yet. Yu Junghyeok is absent most of the story anyway.

This was a good, fast-paced read, and a morally very grey story. Kim Dokja is the hero, but he’s not heroic or good in a sense we expect heroes to be. Side characters didn’t really become their own persons here yet, but as we learned, Kim Dokja’s abilities and knowledge of the story gives him insight into them too.

The layout with several different fonts, one of which was very difficult to read, made it visually busy. I also missed character profiles at the beginning—or end—of the book, like in the manhwa. And I don’t usually judge the cover, but I think the publisher could’ve gone with a better one. This one doesn’t reflect the story at all. There’s a long way for the characters to go yet, and even though I know how the story goes, I’d like to read the original version too.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Manhwa cover of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint. Art by Sleepy-C.

 

Atonement Sky by Nalini Singh: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Atonement Sky by Nalini Singh

Book number nine in Psy-Changeling Trinity series takes us to a completely different type of changeling, falcons. Adam Garret is the wing-leader (alpha) of WindHaven falcon clan in Arizona, fairly young for his position at 28, but capable. His backstory evolves around losing his parents when he was 18 to a poacher that he knows shot them knowing they were changelings and not real birds. But the J-Psy in the trial who was there to read the shooters memories confirmed accidental shooting.

It's not solely the injustice eating him. Assisting the J-Psy had been an intern his age he’d briefly encountered, only to realise she’s his mate. And then she betrayed him by taking the J-Psy’s side.

Ten years later, that intern, Eleri Dias, is a former J-Psy at the end of her life. A decade of absorbing the memories of psychopathic killers has destroyed her mind and once the last shield protecting her against the minds of other people goes, she’ll die. But before she does, she wants to track down a serial killer obsessed with her. That brings her to WindHaven’s territory.

This was a good, emotional story like all Nalini Singh romances. Adam is drawn to Eleri, as she is his mate, no matter that he hates her. But it doesn’t take him long to give up the hate when she almost dies saving a friend of his. For her part, she experiences fleeting emotions for the first time in ages. Unfortunately, every sensation erodes her shields and brings the death closer.

The hunt for the killer is fairly low-key and only after they come after Eleri does something happen on that front. The killer isn’t anyone interesting anyway and we don’t even learn why they’re obsessed with Eleri. There’s no additional background evil like usually working against the entire Psy race either. The focus is on Eleri’s impending death and finding a last-minute miracle to stop it so that she and Adam can have their happily ever after.

Like always, clan life with loving relationships is the heart of the story. Falcons had their unique features that were interesting, but the sense of ‘birdness’ wasn’t there the same way than with the animal natures of leopards and wolves. There are similar people like in every clan, the seconds in command and a healer who are all likeable. The one with some backstory even gets a romance of their own that I maybe liked a bit more than the main one. Nothing wrong with the main one, it was wonderfully emotional, but the first bedroom scene felt too soon, whereas the hookup of the second pair felt more natural.

Adam was the usual stalwart changeling hero with a big heart full of emotions to counter the complete lack of them in Eleri. She wasn’t the most interesting of the series’ heroines so far, but her impending death with no cure was compelling. Her acceptance of it and willingness to end her own life before her mind goes may upset some readers. Together they formed a good pair that was easy to root for.

Some old favourites like Sascha Duncan—and Naya!—make appearances. They don’t have great roles on page and barely any dialogue, but it’s always wonderful to see them. No Kaleb Krycheck to my disappointment.

The ending is, of course, happy and highly emotional. The solution they come up with for Eleri’s condition has wider implications to the entire Psy-changeling world, so it’ll be interesting to see where the author takes that. No solution to the unravelling of the psy-net yet though, so there will be more books yet. As always, looking forward to reading them.

Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovich

This is already book 10 in the main Rivers of London series, on top of which there are some in-between books and comics that I haven’t all read. There’s a two-year time jump between this and book 9, and Peter’s twins that were born at the end of the previous book are now two years old and a handful.

Peter and Bev are on a holiday in Aberdeen of all places, and they’ve taken half the Folly, his parents and his dad’s jazz band with them. They end up camping in the garden of a colleague of Dr Walid, who has sent Walid samples of a dead sheep killed by something that’s not native to Scotland. Walid’s there to investigate.

Peter’s holiday starts well, with beach days with his family while Nightingale and Abigail investigate the mysterious animal and his dad performs with his band. But when an assault victim turns out to have gills, he’s called in to consult the local police. It leads to a full-blown investigation of not only a murder but a missing person, a summoner of weird creatures, a crooked oil company, and forced labour of people who are not quite human.

Meanwhile, Abigail and Nightingale investigate what turns out to be a black leopard, but not quite. They’re not the only people after the creature. A young woman is hunting it too. Abigail is instantly attracted and the two end up having a nice holiday romance. And it turns out, Ione isn’t quite human either.

This was a nice holiday read but not among the best Rivers of London books. I’m not entirely sure it was even a very good book. For one, the structure where both Peter and Abigail had their POV chapters left both their stories lacking. Admittedly, neither of them had enough to do to fill the entire book, but the separation of the storylines didn’t form a satisfying whole. Abigail is also in mourning of someone, but since I haven’t read the book where the death took place, I wasn’t entirely invested, though the grief felt real.

There were too many characters with nothing to do. Peter’s dad and his band were probably supposed to be the comic relief, but all their scenes turned out to be fillers. I don’t think Richard said a word, at least not in direct dialogue. Peter’s mom at least was given a role as a cook and a babysitter, but she didn’t contribute much to the story either. Nightingale, likewise, was underused. Abigail would ditch him constantly, and then call him to help, after which his contribution was covered with a couple of lines. The solutions to the mysteries were mostly accidental.

The narrative as a whole was heavy on telling and not showing, which gave it a slightly distant feel. It was bogged down by description of everything in Aberdeen, but like always, not the main characters. I always find this irking. I read a lot and can’t remember what the main characters of a series I’ve last read three years ago look like, and as six years has gone since the start of the series, there must’ve been changes. Abigail, for one, is no longer a little girl. The stakes were low throughout, the bad guys were mostly human, and nothing blew up. Peter had almost no role in solving things. And there were a few plot holes that were ignored.

The rest is very spoilery, so stop reading here if you haven’t read the book yet.

Here are some plot holes that bugged me after I’d finished. Who ransacked the home and office of the missing woman and why, if they thought she was dead and her contribution for the work was done already? Why did the people who rescued her lock her up when it would’ve been in their interest to let her go to the police? How were the selkies captured when they appeared to be very powerful and also so secretive that other water creatures didn’t even know about them? Why did the panther roam the forests if it was summoned in the city? If it was summoned by using the circle in the forest, why was it covered in a century’s worth of soil? If it was the same panther that had roamed there for centuries, why would they assume that it would go away once the summoner was dealt with?

These aren’t necessarily serious issues, but combined with the narrative as a whole, it gives a notion that the book was a holiday work for the author too. Nevertheless, it entertained me enough to give it three stars, maybe even 3,5 rounded down. And I’m not ready to give up Peter and his gang. But I’m hoping for a more substantial story next time round.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

June reading recap

Once again, I’ve read so much manga this month that writing this recap took forever. In contrast, I only managed to finish three novels of the six I meant to read, and only one of those was a review copy, leaving three review copies for next month.

The only review copy novel I read was A Fellowship of Librarians & Dragons by J. Penner, which I unfortunately didn’t like at all, so much so that if it hadn’t been a review copy, I wouldn’t have finished it. Luckily, the two novels I read for myself were better. There was vol. 5 of Case File Compendium by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou, where things got heated, literally. And I read Peerless vol. 4 by Meng Xi Shi where things are heating up a little too.

In comparison, I read 15 review copies of manga. To save space, I’ll simply list them here. Links lead to my reviews on Goodreads, if you’re curious.

Kill Blue, Vol. 1 by Tadatoshi Fujimaki. An assassassin returns to school as a teenager. Great fun.

A Star Brighter than the Sun, Vol. 2 by Kazune Kawahara. Still no closer to confession.

Senpai is an Otokonoko: My Crossdressing Classmate 1 by Pom. This was great story of a boy who likes to dress up like a girl at school.

Shout Loud, My Heart by Youga Rayri. Very good BL romance.

Radio Storm, Vol. 1 by 팀S&S. Gloomy but good.

Outsiders Vol 1 by Akira Kanou. Confusing. I didn’t like it much.

The Hitman Stans, Vol. 1 by Rintarou Ohshima. Really funny story of a hitman supporting his favourite girl idol.

Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, Vol. 4 by Julietta Suzuki. Still good and funny.

Nue’s Exorcist, Vol. 1 by Kōta Kawae. Good start to a series.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House: Succession, Vol. 1 by Aya Shouto. A spin-off that wasn't very good.

Ask and You Will Receive, Vol. 2 by Niyama. A good follow-up.

Tsumiki Ogami’s Not-So-Ordinary Life, Vol. 1 by Miyu Morishita. A good start to a series about acceptance.

Veil Volume 2: Calming Noir by Kotteri. Art is great.

Cosmic Censorship Vol. 1 by Ryuuichi Sadamatsu. Action-packed.

Therapy Game Restart, Vol. 5 by Meguru Hinohara. Gah! So frustrating, but the men are getting there.

I also read 17 manga volumes for myself, most of that taken by eight volumes of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun by Izumi Tsubaki. I didn’t review all of them, but all were at least 4 star reads. I’ll list a couple here. I also read three volumes of I’m the Catlords’ Manservant by Rat Kitaguni, which turned out to be fun. One volume to go.

Here are the manga I read this month:

I’m the Catlords’ Manservant, vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3 by Rat Kitaguni.

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity 7 by Saka Mikami. My go-to good-feel manga.

On and Off: Work-Life Imbalance 01 by Shinnosuke Kanazawa. Really pretty, with a sweet story.

The Otaku Love Connection 02 by Chu Amairo. As zany as the first vol.

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint vol 7 by singNsong. I gave this 5 stars, but didn’t review it. It’s been too long since I read it for real, but the paperback came out this month so it’s in this month’s tally.

Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture, Vol. 6 by Mikage Sawamura. This is the last manga, but light novels continue.

SANCTIFY, Lost Paradise by Godstation. Angsty and good.

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, vol. 3, vol. 4, vol. 5, vol. 9 by Izumi Tsubaki. The whole long series is silly and fun.

All in all, another satisfying reading month.